Sweetapple Animal Hospital

04/05/12

The Best

by vfhans

We loved using sweet apple to board our cat and attend his vet needs. Cat, Toby, has passed away now but we hope to use them when we adopt again-probably a dog. Our cat liked to go there and he never liked to go to the other vet we had used. They are very fair with pricing also!

They seem to care a lot. And that matters to me a lot!!

03/25/11

Re: sutton525

by msweetapple

We were quite surprised at Mr. Sutton's review. Yes, we have treated the Sutton's pets for many years and because of that relationship we bent over backwards and then some when they came in and Paddy was so ill. That morning we did the exam, x-rays, oxygen therapy, lasix injection and prescribed 2 medications. These charges came to $189.00. and when the owners returned in the afternoon after deciding on humane euthanasia, the hospital wrote off that ENTIRE amount. We charged only for the euthanasia and even discounted the private cremation. The owner's had originally elected to take Paddy home for burial, but later decided on private cremation which is quite expensive in comparison. On March 9 I spoke with Mr. Sutton about the $7.00 monthly service charge-not an interest rate. Our original client info sheet has a statement that explains the $7 charge if there is a balance over 30 days. This is to keep us from becoming a free bank. Most clients are able to pay more than $10 a month making the charges seem more reasonable. Without it what incentive would one have to pay it off? We encounter hardship cases on a daily basis and understand the owner's predicament, but we must also keep staff on hand and pay our overhead to keep the doors open. Addressing the aspirin issue: On Sept 9, 2010, the owner requested a refill of the pain medication used for Paddy's arthritis. They spoke with the veterinarian who recommended blood work to check kidney and liver values before refilling. The owner was worried about money so they were advised to try 80mg aspirin every 48-72 hours until they had money for the lab and medication. This is the approved dose of aspirin for cats from the North American Companion Animal Formulary, a pharmacy guide. Aspirin can be toxic in certain situations and doses and this was discussed with the owner. This was not the cause of the congestive heart failure.

If it was Mr. Sutton's intention to upset the staff at SweetApple, he succeeded. We work here because of our love of animals and strive to practice the best medicine for these pets. This is also a business and Mr. Sutton evidently does not appreciate the $189 we lost caring for his pet.

03/21/11

Proceed with caution!

by sutton525

Our most beloved cat EVER (Paddy) fell ill and had to be put down a few weeks ago.

Please understand that both my wife and I were unemployed at this time.

We trusted the health of our three cats to the staff at Sweetapple for several years prior to this and were very satisfied with their services.

When things became tough and we had to cut corners best we could we asked the vet if there was anything we could do to help Paddy with his arthritic condition which we paid to diagnose and treat earlier. We were told to give him aspirin when we could no longer afford his prescribed medication. We trusted this but later found that Aspirin (in most cases) can be quite lethal to cats.

On the day of his demise he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. The vet who attended to him was very helpful in attempting to save him on our limited budget although there was little to no chance of this happening.

Paddy had to be put down because we loved him to much to prolong his suffering.

We decided that we must have Paddy ( or at least his ashes) come home even at the one hundred dollar plus charge for this service. We were devastated by his loss and felt that he must come home rather than be thrown away in a mass grave so we made payment arrangements.

All went well with this as we made the payments as agreed while they kept his remains until the bill was paid which was fair enough.

Then the $7 per month "service charge" started appearing on our bill. Paying as agreed was $10 per month so only three dollars per month was credited to principle.

I tried to work this out in more reasonable terms but was told that we had signed an agreement many years ago that stipulated that these WERE the terms.

I sold some of our belongings and paid the bill. The fourteen dollar loss in two months for a hundred dollar debt was unfortunate and probably sounds trivial to most. It wasn't to us at the time.

Please use caution when conducting business arrangements with these folks as I was not told of this "contractual agreement" in advance nor have they provided with us with the signed "contract" which stipulated this absurd "service charge" (not to be confused with interest which would be well above the legal limit).

Above all else - read carefully about the use of Aspirin in cats. We followed the vet's suggestions very carefully and now wonder if this professional advice was sound.

RIP Paddy, we will love you forever.

03/13/11

Love this vet!!!!

by BPotts

One of the best vets I have ever been to. Very kind and compassionate staff. I had to put my 18 year old dog down and they were so very kind and caring. Even sent me a sympathy card afterwards. I have three other dogs and will never consider going anywhere but here. Awesome clinic!!

10/21/10

Excellent Hospital

by Tobie

I have taken all my many babies here for 14 years. They are the very best!!! Very caring and I love everyone there!!!!